Hawks enjoy successful month

The Hawks closed out January as winners in four of their last five games to run their monthly record to 8-7. It marked the first time the Hawks finished a month with a winning record since going 4-3 in April, 2004.

It was also Atlanta’s first eight-plus win month since a 9-7 March in 2002. The Hawks got offensive in January, hitting 44.5 percent of their shots from the floor and 77.1 percent of their free throws. Defensively, the squad held opposing teams to 92.3 points per game.

It came down to the wire, but Atlanta managed to claim the successful January with a 115-94 win over Golden State, the Hawks’s second win in a row. Joe Johnson, who ranks sixth in the East in scoring at 25.3 points per game, led the way with 33 points.

"It’s nice to see. I give a lot of credit to the guys in the locker room," Hawks head coach Mike Woodson said after the Warriors game. "They’ve been really working to get to this point. We still have a long way to go though. But we’ll take 8-7, considering where we came from, with all the injuries. We just have to keep going and try to make February better."

The Hawks have also enjoyed some success on the road as of late. The club won back-to-back road wins on January 24-26 to push their road win total to eight. Atlanta ended last season with only eight road wins total.

The back-to-back victories away from Philips Arena marked the second time this year Atlanta won consecutive road games, which they haven’t done since the 2000-01 campaign.

It’s a good sign for the Hawks, who wrap up a four-game homestand Friday against Toronto before playing six of their next eight games on the road.